Zuckerberg was questioned in court over the harms social media has on teens

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in court Wednesday in a landmark trial aimed at determining whether the tech giant’s social media apps are addictive and harmful to teens and children. The trial, which took place in Los Angeles Superior Court, actually revealed that he was dead Special research indicated Parental supervision cannot prevent teens from compulsive use of social media, and teens who faced traumatic life experiences were more likely to overuse social media.

Lawyers for the plaintiff, a 20-year-old who uses her initials KGM, questioned Zuckerberg this week about whether Instagram employees were given goals to increase daily usage of the app. Meta’s CEO had said during a previous congressional hearing that this was not the case, The Associated Press noted thatBut a 2015 email chain presented as evidence at trial showed Zuckerberg seeking to increase his number of users Time spent by users in the app by 12%.

Zuckerberg was also asked about Instagram’s use of beauty filters, which Meta’s own experts said should be banned when it comes to teens, as well as internal documents with Meta’s estimates about how many kids under 13 are on the platform. one Identification document from 2018 He mentioned thatAIn 2015, 4 million children under 13 had Instagram accounts, including nearly 30% of 10- to 12-year-olds in the United States, for example.

Here, Zuckerberg responded by saying that age verification was difficult and that smartphone makers like Apple could be more helpful on that front. (Apple recently introduced Special age guarantee tools For developers, as a result of increasing pressure to regulate apps like Facebook and Instagram in the United States, where a lot Countries He owns Now created or under development Their social media rules.)

Reports from the courtroom He noted that Zuckerberg largely stuck to the company’s talking points during his testimony, and at times claimed that the plaintiff’s lawyers were Taking things out of context or Wrong description What the documents said.

Plaintiff KGM (who also goes by her first name Kaley) has filed a lawsuit against four social media companies over what she claims is the harmful and addictive nature of their platforms. Tik Tok and pop It was settled before the trial began, with YouTube and Meta defending the success of their apps.

During the trial, Meta’s lawyers pointed to Callie’s unhappy childhood as the cause of her mental health concerns, not the social apps themselves. The results of this jury trial could lead to major technology reforms, new laws and regulations, and lead to a settlement with victims, if the tech companies are found to be at fault.